Hi Pastor John,
I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to share something that has been on my heart over the past several days and ask for your thoughts on it. Amy’s 1981 sermon audio and transcript really stirred me—especially when you said, “the Promise comes through the Seed.” That statement stayed with me, and as I continued reading, several scriptures began connecting in a way I had never seen before.
A day or two before listening to the sermon, I had been reading Ephesians 1:13:
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
I’ve read this verse many times, but this time the Lord allowed me to see a deeper connection between the Promise, the holy Ghost, and the Seed. Whether I am understanding it correctly or not, it caused me to start looking more closely at several other scriptures, and I wanted to share them with you to see if I am on the right track.
Before returning to Ephesians, many scriptures came to mind concerning the Promise itself. In Luke 24:47–49, Jesus speaks of the Promise of the Father, which was fulfilled in Acts 2 when the holy Ghost was poured out with a sound. Peter explains this in Acts 2:33, saying that Jesus, exalted at the right hand of God, “received of the Father the promise of the holy Ghost” and poured it out. Then in Acts 2:38–39, Peter declares that this Promise is not only for the Jews but also “for all that are afar off,” which we know includes the Gentiles. As I read these passages, it seemed to me that the Promise and the holy Ghost are inseparably connected.
Jesus also describes the Promise in Acts 1:4–5, telling the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Promise of the Father, which He identifies as the baptism of the holy Ghost. As I looked at these passages together, it began forming what seemed to me to be a clear picture: that the Promise is the Spirit, and that the Spirit is the fulfillment of what God swore to Abraham. If I am understanding this incorrectly, I would certainly appreciate your correction.
That connection became even clearer when I read Galatians 3. In verse 8, Paul explains that the blessing promised to Abraham—that all nations would be blessed—was really the gospel preached before the Law was given. Then in Genesis 22:16–18, God swears that through Abraham’s seed all nations would be blessed.
As I read that passage, I was struck again by God’s words concerning Abraham’s seed: “in multiplying thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore.” It seemed to me that this promise was looking ahead to believing Gentiles as well. The thought that we might be included in what God was showing Abraham touched my heart. We are one of those stars!
Paul interprets this directly in Galatians 3:14:
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
What stood out to me was that Paul seems to connect the blessing of Abraham with receiving the Promise of the Spirit through faith. That connection was something I had never seen quite so clearly before, but as I began to study these passages together it became evident. Just as Abraham obeyed God, the Promise (holy Spirit) comes to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). And faith comes by hearing the Word, Jesus, the Seed.
Galatians 3:16 brought the final piece together: the Seed through whom the Promise comes is Christ Himself. You’ve often taught that the heart must be prepared to receive the Seed (Truth when it comes), and that we always get (reap) what we prepare our hearts for. I remember you saying in the Old Testament course that seeking God is different from preparing our hearts—preparing is how we live. You’ve said often that our meetings reveal how well we each have prepared our hearts before we assemble together. When the Seed (the Word, Jesus) enters a prepared heart, it grows, takes root, and brings forth new birth.
Returning to Ephesians 1:13, it seemed that many of these things began fitting together for me in a way they never had before. The Ephesians heard the Word of truth, believed, and were sealed with the holy Spirit of Promise. And what struck me even more is that these are the same Ephesians in Acts 19. Those twelve men were believers, but they had not yet received the holy Ghost because they had not heard the full gospel. Once they heard, believed, and obeyed, they received the Spirit with a sound and were sealed. It helped me see that no matter how much someone believes, the sound and the sealing must still be evident. Belief alone is not the seal—God Himself seals His people with the Spirit of Promise.
I know you have taught many times that God seals His New Testament people with the holy Ghost just as He gave His people a seal under the Old Covenant. As these scriptures came together, I began seeing more clearly the connection between the Promise, the Spirit, and the Seed.
This also brought to mind Romans 2:29 and Colossians 2:11–12, where circumcision is no longer outward but inward, performed by the Spirit. It seemed to me that the Seed enters(sowing) the heart (soil), the Spirit circumcises the old nature, and a new man is raised up (reaping). One detail especially stayed with me: in the Old Covenant, circumcision was performed in the flesh at the very place where the physical seed came through. In the New Covenant, circumcision is in the heart—where the spiritual Seed, the Word of God, enters. The location of circumcision remains where the seed comes through—first in the flesh, now in the heart. That parallel was very interesting to me and seemed to fit perfectly with the pattern I was seeing in the Scriptures.
As I considered these things, Romans 8:9 also stood out to me: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” That verse made me appreciate even more the necessity and preciousness of receiving the Spirit. The seal of the covenant is not merely a doctrine to understand but a reality and an experience that God gives to His people.
Again, Pastor John, I am sharing this because these scriptures have been on my mind, and I wanted your thoughts on whether I am understanding them rightly. A lot of this comes from things you’ve taught over the years that are finally connecting for me. I’m not trying to say I’ve found something new, and if I’m understanding any of it incorrectly, I’m happy to be corrected. But if there is truth in what I am seeing, then I am grateful to God for helping me appreciate more deeply how the Promise, the Seed, and the Spirit fit together.
Thank you for your teaching over the years and feeding me this really good food! It helped prepare my heart to finally see how the Promise, the Seed, and the Spirit are connected. I really do appreciate all of your hard work to get this truth out to us and have the best chance to grow in the Lord right here because Truth is being taught. I pray that I can take it into my heart and walk worthy of it.
David
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Hi David!
That was very well done! It is exciting for me to see a child of God learning from Jesus and growing in the knowledge of God. I loved it! Keep up the good work. This has been very good to read, and it will bless whoever else reads it.
Pastor John